Local News

Dennis Robert Jahn, 72, peacefully passed from this world to his heavenly home on November 20, 2018 while surrounded by all his loved ones at his home in Bishop. Dennis was born in March 1946 in Los Angeles, Ca., the son of Arnold and Lynn Jahn. Shortly after graduating from Sierra High School in Whittier, Ca. he was drafted and served 2 years in the U. S. Army. Upon discharge he was employed by the L. A. Dept. of Water and Power where he completed the DWP automotive apprenticeship program.

In 1970 he met and married his wife, Bonnie, and in 1977 Dennis, along with his wife and 3 children, transfered with DWP to Bishop where he worked as an automotive mechanic and later became an automotive inspector until he retired in 1998 at age 52. After retiring he worked part time at K-Mart and then was employed as a part time driver for Eastern Sierra Transit until he resigned Nov 1, 2018 due to illness. Dennis and his family loved vacationing in their travel trailer with their 3 children and grandchildren especially camping, hiking, and exploring the Eastern Sierra.

A favorite spot was Lake Siskiyou at Mt. Shasta. He enjoyed many vacations in the pacific northwest and all the northern states eastward to Minnesota. Dennis developed a passion and love for photography. His photos capture God’s beautiful creation. His talent grew to semi-professional and included several photos published in Outdoor Photographer.

He loved photographing the Eastern Sierra. Dennis is preceded in death by his son, Eric Scott Jahn in 2008, brothers Ken and Allan, and parents Arnold and Lynn. Dennis is survived by his wife, Bonnie; daughter, Julie of Bishop; son Chris of Idaho Falls, Idaho; grandchildren, Kaitlyn of San Diego; Dominic, Dawson and Mercedes of Bishop; Trystan of Nampa, Idaho; Cayben of Idaho Falls, Idaho; and great grandchild Jackson of Bishop. Dennis is very much loved by family and friends and will truly be missed. Rest in peace in God’s loving arms, til we are all reunited for all etermity. A celebration of life will be announced at a later date in honor of Dennis.

The Bishop City Council voted unanimously to appoint Mr. David B. Kelly as City Administrator at their regularly scheduled meeting of December 10, 2018. Mr. Kelly and his wife, Mrs. Jernon Kelly, were both in attendance on Monday evening and briefly introduced themselves.

Mr. Kelly has worked in the public sector for over 20 years and has served in many roles. Just to name a few, he has served as an assistant public works director, a city administrator, a director for human resources and risk management, and an administrator for county commissioners. He has worked in Colorado, Washington and Arizona.

Mr. Kelly enjoys financial and data analyses and finding unique solutions to solve problems. Mr. Kelly is a graduate of Brigham Young University, with a degree in Economics. He also holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado.

Mr. Kelly has been actively involved in his church and with the Boy Scouts of America in various capacities his entire life. He served a full-time mission and enjoys service projects of all shapes and sizes.
Mr. Kelly has a blended family of six children, four girls and two boys, with three left at home. He and his wife also have one precious granddaughter. Family is a big part of his life! They enjoy spending time boating, fishing, hiking, and camping together. About a month ago his family did their first mud run. Mr. Kelly likes to garden, fix things around the house, and do genealogy.

Mr. Kelly started his new position with the City on Tuesday, December 11, 2018. Mrs. Kelly is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Youngtown, Arizona, and will be looking to continue her career in Bishop.

The Bishop City Council welcomes Mr. and Mrs. Kelly and their children to Bishop!

The Mono County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team is an all-volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to saving lives. When called by the Mono County Sheriff’s Office, the Team responds for searches and rescues at any time, in any weather, for as long as it takes, for free. The Team has responded to 37 calls this year so far and has volunteered 3,410 hours.
Each year the Team holds an Awards Dinner to acknowledge the hard work its members have contributed and to honor members for their individual excellence and public service. The 2018 Awards Dinner was held on Saturday, December 8.

The Team’s highest honor, election to status as a Lifetime Member, is only rarely conferred to a Rescue Member who has made unusual, faithful, and regular contributions to the Team and to the welfare of victims over a significant number of years. This year Barry Beck received this high honor. Barry has served the Team very actively for 14 years. Records show that he has participated in 230 search and rescue missions, 307 trainings, and 243 meetings, for a total of 780 Team events.

This is an enormous voluntary commitment of time and talent to the County and the Team. Barry has faithfully served the Team in a wide variety of roles, including Board member, Training Officer, and currently as the Team President. He is very versatile and dependable and has consistently been eager to accept difficult field assignments in any weather.
The Team’s annual honor for achievement is the Pete Schoerner Rescue Member of the Year award. The award is named in memory of a beloved teammate who died in an ice climbing accident in 1996. The Pete Schoerner Rescue Member of the Year for 2018 is Eric Kaufman. Eric serves the Team as a member of the Board of Directors and is a very active responder to search and rescue calls. Since joining the team in 2017, he has responded to 121 team events.

New members in training are called Candidate Members, who must undergo training, practice, and testing in eighteen skill categories before being considered for advancement to Rescue Member. Examples of these skills include first aid and victim care, tracking, technical rescue, mountain navigation, helicopter operations, and skill with electronic aids such as computers, radios, avalanche transceivers, and GPS receivers. Completion of all requirements takes a lot of dedication and faithfulness over a period that is typically a year or more.

The Team honors one Candidate Member each year with the Rick Mosher Candidate Member of the Year Award. Rick Mosher is the only team member to have died in the line of duty while searching in a small airplane that crashed during an operation on August 15, 1979. This year the Team selected Mitchell Quiring as the Rick Mosher Candidate Member of the Year. Mitch is very active in many aspects of response to calls, training, and team readiness. Since joining the team in April of this year, he has participated in 51 team events. New members who complete training and testing to advance from Candidate Member to Rescue Member status receive embroidered red Team uniform shirts. Mitchell Quiring received his at the Awards Dinner.
The Team’s history goes back to 1966, and hundreds of members have come and gone as their lives changed. Jim Gilbreath joined the team in 1993 and is only the second member to achieve a 25-year tenure. He has been a key player in many of the Team’s affairs, including serving as a member of the Board of Directors, Vice President, Operations Leader, training instructor, and record keeper and reporter. He was awarded the Golden Carabiner Award for his 25 years of excellent service.

Heidi Vetter received an award for 10 years of service. She has been an active member since 2008 and has responded to 304 team events. She has served the Team as Board Member, Vice President, Operations Leader, Secretary, and training instructor.

“They also serve who stand and wait” is a famous quote by Milton over 300 years ago. In this case it applies to two Team members’ wives – Valerie Case and Jean Gilbreath, who for over 25 years have endured with grace, understanding, and encouragement the hundreds of absences from home by their SAR husbands. They were awarded SAR WIDOW plaques.

The SAR team wishes to thank members of the community for their generous support

Andy lived a productive and faithful life in peaceful, quiet dignity. Feeling a need to serve at an early age, he joined the Boy Scouts in Los Angeles where he learned to cherish nature and honor his community.

Taking him throughout the Pacific Ocean, he served as a radio operator in the Navy from 1958-1963 on the ship, “Tulare.” His first job after discharge was with the Pacific Telephone Co. in L.A. for 2 years. Following in his father’s footsteps he then joined the San Diego Fire Department from 1965 -1979, retiring at the rank of Captain. During that time he helped start the city’s first paramedic program.

After retiring from public service, Andy wished to go back to school becoming the first one in his family to graduate from college. He earned a Bachelors degree in Geography from Cal State Fullerton, which further deepened his appreciation for earth sciences and history.

He and his dearest love, Kay, built their dream home (and dream garden) in Bishop in 1994 where he began serving the community. Skilled with his hands, he contributed to the development and restoration of the Brill Car woodwork at Laws Railroad Museum. He was a licensed ham radio operator and patiently taught Kay to pass the tests and become one too.

Daily he tended to his garden and enjoyed long walks along trails in the Owens Valley. He grew vegetables and flowers, built model airplanes, fixed anything and everything, and was always there to lend a helping hand.

Passing the beauty of the Eastern Sierra’s natural and human history to his grandchildren, he taught them to read the clouds, kayak the lakes, appreciate the petroglyphs, fly kites in the cattle pastures, and build snowmen on the occasional white Christmas. To them, he also passed along his obsession for Cowgirl Cookies and sourdough bread from the Great Basin Bakery.

Andy was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Bishop and Treasurer for the Eastern Sierra Flyer Radio Controlled Aircraft club.

He is survived by wife, Kay (Bishop, CA); children, Melanie Foster, husband Scott (Irvine, CA) and Andrew Chaney, wife Chris (Wichita, KS) and his 6 grandchildren, Miranda, Nathaniel, Anastasia, Wyatt, Abigail, and Levi. They will miss his heartwarming “ho ho ho” at Christmas time, his stories of his world travels, and his strong steady hugs most of all. This quiet, gentle man was dearly loved and his memory will be forever cherished.

Services will be Saturday, December 15, 2018 at the First Presbyterian Church, 10 AM, 585 N. Main Street, Bishop. Refreshments will follow & all are invited. Interment will be after, at Pioneer Cemetery, East Line Street, just past the turn off to the airport.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Andrew Charles Pucio may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 585 N. Main Street, Bishop, CA 93514.

On December 3rd, Nye County Sheriffs received information of a possible drunk driver leaving the Super 7 Gas station in Tonopah, NV.

The vehicle was promptly located traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 95, traveling northbound passing Depot Road. Nye County Sheriffs attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver would not obey the pursing officer’s commands to yield. The alleged drunk driver ended up maneuvering through parking lots, until eventually continuing on to Highway 95.

Eventually, the vehicle came to a stop at the Sierra Vista Apartment Complex. Heather Thomas, a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah surrendered herself to authorities, exiting the vehicle with her hands held high in the air. Thomas was subdued by pursuing police officers and booked on charges of driving with an out of state suspended drivers license, driving under the influence, disobeying a peace officer while driving under the influence, and speeding 25 or more miles per hour over the posted speed limit.

The 15th annual “Coats For Kids” drive and remote broadcast was a huge success Saturday with loads of coats donated to children in need. Approximately seventy coats were provided to less fortunate kids across the Eastern Sierra.

Claiborne Mitchell of KIBS/KBOV Radio hosted the live remote broadcast and interviewed key members of the Eastern Sierra Transit Authority, Salvation Army, and K-Mart.

General Manager of K-Mart, Jarrett Chytka helped ring in the holiday spirit by donating a kid’s bicycle, which will be given away Monday, December 17. Chytka also provided peppermints and candy for the crowd gathered around the KIBS/KBOV tent.

Administrative Specialist, Dawn Vidal was in attendance to collect food for the E.S.T.A. Stuff-A-Bus event, and said that she was extremely impressed with community turnout to the event. The bus was packed with non-perishable items such as soups, cereals, canned veggies, and canned fruit.

The Salvation Army’s efforts in this event did not go unnoticed. Lt. Sherry Hooper brought chocolate milk, donuts, hot chocolate, and coffee for those who donated coats and food. When interviewed by Claiborne Mitchell, Lt. Hooper remarked how pleased she was with the donations of food and coats for needy children.

There will be another opportunity to donate to the “Coats For Kids” drive this Saturday at Carl’s Jr. in Bishop. Join News and Sports Director, Bradford Evans for a live remote broadcast from 12 P.M. To 2 P.M. Donations will be accepted throughout the entirety of the event.

Brenda Lacey the FFA Advisor of the Lone Pine High School FFA Chapter. Was recently awarded the Honorary American FFA Degree at the 2018 National Convention & Expo during an onstage ceremony on Friday, Oct. 26 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mrs. Lacey received a certificate and medal, and their name will be permanently recorded at the National FFA Center.

This award is given to those who advance agricultural education and FFA through outstanding personal commitment. The National FFA Organization works to enhance the lives of youth through agricultural education. Without the efforts of highly dedicated individuals, thousands of young people would not be able to achieve the success that, in turn, contributes directly to the overall well being of the nation.

Also receiving National FFA Awards where Katie Lacey a 2016 Lone Pine High Graduate who is currently a junior at Oklahoma State University studying Agricultural Business/Pre-Law. Katie was recognized as the California FFA Star American Farmer receiving a Gold Medal along with her American FFA Degree. Tinh LeTrung a 2017 Lone Pine High Graduate a sophomore at Cerro Coso Community College received his American FFA Degree.

As the highest degree achievable in the National FFA Organization, the American FFA degree shows an FFA member’s dedication to his or her chapter and state FFA association. American FFA Degree recipients show promise for the future and have gone above and beyond to achieve excellence.

Recipients received a certificate and the American FFA Degree key in honor of their accomplishments and dedication to FFA.

The Lone Pine FFA Chapter had six current members in attendance at the 91st National FFA Convention and Expo, which drew a record 69,944 attendees to Indianapolis for this year’s themed convention “Just One”. Jessica McGuire, Kaili Hykes, Jaye Eaton, Luke Sullivan, Daniel Miller, and Fernando Rodriguez were in attendance for all of the leadership sessions, keynote speakers, and the National FFA Expo. In addition the students spent time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, toured Purdue University, and explored the beautiful city of Indianapolis.

The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 669,989 student members who belong to one of 8,630 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Bergin Islands. The national FFA Organization is the premier youth organization dedicated to preparing members for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture. FFA members are the future food industry’s premier human capital, and they are all driven by the organization’s foundational motto: Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.

Ella “Bobbie” Calkins, 99, born April 29, 1919 in New Zealand and passed away in Bishop, CA on November 27, 2018.

She was preceded in death by her husband; Don Calkins, and she is survived by her daughter; Gail Arcularius and her husband Will of Cedar City, Utah, and by her son Robert Calkins of Wellington, Nevada, and Grandchildren; Gregory August, Bob August, Tina Mosey and Angie Wray, and 3 great grandchildren; Koyl Mosey, Dimitri Wray and Axel Wray.

Bobbie became a war bride when she met & married U.S. Marine Captain Don Calkins while his unit was on maneuvers in New Zealand preparing for numerous island assaults in the Pacific. After the war Don worked for his family’s newspaper syndicate in the Central Valley of California and then they moved to Bishop with their daughter, Gail, in 1951.

On November 26th, at approximately 5:30 PM, CHP responded to the report of a traffic collision between a pickup truck and a pedestrian along a dirt driveway on Taboose Ln in bishop. When CHP arrived on the scene, Antonio Sandoval Plata was located lying in the dirt driveway with head trauma.

Plata was treated at the scene by Bishop Volunteer Fire Personnel and Symons Ambulance. Afterwards, Plata was transported to Northern Inyo Hospital and due to his major injuries, he was flown to Renown Medical Center in Reno, Nevada for treatment.

A preliminary investigation indicates Antonio Sandoval Plata was intoxicated at the time he was lying in the dirt driveway. Garrett Rogers was driving a 2003 Toyota Tundra down the same driveway when he backed over Plata. Rogers related he did not see the pedestrian laying in the driveway when he backed over him.